The Bow Group, a conservative think-tank whose patrons include Lord Lamont and John Redwood, said Lord Heseltine must be disciplined.

Its chairman Ben Harris-Quinney, a Tory councillor, said: “The Brexit negotiations cannot be led by a Conservative Government that allows outright sabotage to go unaddressed within its own ranks.

"Lord Heseltine has made clear it is his aim to prevent Brexit at all costs, including the sabotage of his own party and nation. The Conservative Party must therefore withdraw the whip and end the inevitable continuation of his sniping from inside the tent.”

Former Cabinet minister Lord Tebbit told the Daily Mail: "The Bow Group is absolutely right to make this call and I think the whip should be withdrawn. It seems Lord Heseltine is saying rather than have a government carry out its election pledge to consummate Brexit that we should elect a Marxist government – that does not seem to be compatible with taking the Conservative whip."